Chargers player Phillips cited in Ivy Hotel punchout

Shaun Phillips denied having anything to do with an incident at the Ivy Hotel last weekend. "It was somebody else's mishap. It had nothing to do with me or my teammates," he said.
— K.C. Alfred / K.C. Alfred/Union-Tribune

Shaun Phillips denied having anything to do with an incident at the Ivy Hotel last weekend. "It was somebody else's mishap. It had nothing to do with me or my teammates," he said.
— K.C. Alfred / K.C. Alfred/Union-Tribune

Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips was cited for misdemeanor battery early Saturday morning after a security guard at a rooftop bar in downtown San Diego said the linebacker hit him in the face, police said.

The incident was reported about 1:25 a.m. at the Ivy Hotel on F Street, San Diego police said.

Police spokeswoman Mónica Muñoz said there was a brawl at the bar that precipitated the incident. She said neither Phillips nor any other Chargers player was involved in the brawl.

In a written report on the incident, San Diego police Officer J. Denny said he and another officer responded to a call about a fight at the Ivy.

Denny said that a security guard had been called to the rooftop bar to break up a fight, and that Phillips "used his right hand to hit (the guard) in the left side of his face."

The security guard placed Phillips under citizen's arrest for battery, Denny said, and the officer later cited Phillips and released him on his written promise to appear for a misdemeanor arraignment.

It was the second time this month that Phillips, 27, was involved in a battery incident, police said.

Officers said that on April 11, a security guard at the Stingaree club on Sixth Avenue said Phillips choked and punched him. The guard reported the incident several hours later.

Phillips was named as a suspect but was not arrested or cited, Muñoz said.

James Brennan, owner of the Stingaree, said Monday that the April 11 incident was "blown way out of proportion" and involved Shaun Phillips'brother, not Phillips. He said the security guard has since "recanted" his statement to police that he was assaulted.

"After speaking with our security guard, he agreed that he was maybe a little out of line on what his memory was of how the incident took place, and he has since dropped the charges and moved on," Brennan said.

Phillips on Monday denied having anything to do with the incident at the Ivy.

"It was somebody else's mishap. It had nothing to do with me or my teammates," Phillips said.

He confirmed that he received a citation and said the officer was "just doing his job based on one person's account."

"There is video of the whole thing, and it won't show me anywhere in the vicinity," Phillips said.

He also said that the incident at the Stingaree was "another misunderstanding" and pointed out that he was not cited or taken into custody. He said fingers are pointed at him only because he is a "recognizable face."

"You don't see me in handcuffs, don't see me in the back of a police car," Phillips said.

Blake Marnell, 44, said he was walking home early Saturday after a late dinner following a Padres game and saw police officers outside the Ivy talking to a man in a Bentley as a security guard stood by. Marnell said he heard someone say that the car's driver was Phillips.

When officers asked the security guard if he wanted to press charges, Marnell said the the guard said yes.